Plastic coated wire or metal shelving and holders are known and are used for a variety of different purposes. However, no prior art was found which was satisfactory for retaining baby bottles; particularly in a refrigerator.
Even though several different plastic powders may be applied as coatings (to metal or wire), vinyl, epoxy and nylon are the most frequently used. Vinyl and epoxy provide good corrosion and weather resistance as well as good electrical insulation. Nylon is used mainly because of its superior resistance to wear and abrasions.
Some of the processes which have been developed to apply these coatings are fluidized bed and electrostatic spraying. Fluidized bed is the most popular process. Metal or wire is preheated and then immersed in a tank of finely divided plastic powders. These powders are held in a suspended state by a rising current of air. As the powders come in contact with the heated metal, the powders fuse and adhere to the metal, forming a continuous, uniform coating which encapsulates the metal.
Electrostatic spraying works on the idea that charged materials attract each other. Powder is fed through a gun. The gun provides an electrostatic charge which is the reverse of the charge provided to the metal to be coated. As the charged particles exit the gun, they remain attracted to the metal until they are fused together as a plastic coating.
Wire or metal can be formed into virtually any shape and then heated and dipped into a tank of plastic powders until the powders fuse to the metals. This process produces a very attractive, safe and corrosive resistant finish and product.
An example of a device using this or a similar process is:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,201, Chap discloses a modular wrap organizer which comprises a plurality of elongated, transversely extended shelves, formed of wire members, and affixed to the sides of the supporting frames.
Volumes of baby bottles are washed, dried, filled, stored and transported by parents or caretakers of children during the first few years of infancy. Devices have been implemented to aid in washing and drying and even transporting of those bottles, but there is a very important problem which has yet to be addressed. Baby bottles with prepared formula, milk or juice must be refrigerated. However, if there is no room for these bottles in the door of the refrigerator, the bottles must be placed on the interior wire shelves of the refrigerators. The bottles may get shoved to the back and with baby bottles being tall and generally slender they tend to topple when placed on the wire shelving of a refrigerator. The narrowness of the baby bottle base, which is approximately 1 7/10" across, coupled with the gapped wires of the shelves; which wires are approximately 1/10" in diameter and include approximately 1/2" gaps between each wire, create an uneven surface for the baby bottle. The baby bottle covers approximately three separate wire gap areas, yet the baby bottle base is not quite wide enough to balance securely along the wire, hence it wobbles between two gapped areas. Also, since the majority of the available baby bottles are round or somewhat round in shape, the longitudinal direction of the wire shelves is such that the two (the wire and bottle base) never quite coordinate. This inconsistency allows the baby bottle to fall over at even the slightest movement of the refrigerator.
The few solid shelves available in most refrigerators are usually occupied with other items or cannot be positioned to accommodate the height of the baby bottles.